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The former Shipping House
[Scheepvaarthuis], by J. M. van der Mey (1878-1949) and others: Van
der Mey designed the exterior with M. de Klerk (1884-1923) and P. L.
Kremer (1881-1961), while the Van Gendt brothers were responsible for
the concrete structure and construction.. The commission was
given in 1912, and the building was constructed 1913-16. Prince
Hendrikkade, Amsterdam.

This remarkable building was built for a consortium of
the six shipping companies of the Netherlands. It stands in a
prominent position close to the the harbour, looking as though it
might itself set sail at any minute. Even from a distance its bold
silhouette and height give it almost as much presence as P. H. L. Cyupers'
nearby Central
Station, and indeed it makes a similar statement about Amsterdam's
past and present status. In fact, the station preceded it by not much
more than twenty years, and there is a clear line of descent: Van der
Mey had trained in Cyupers' nephew's office, where he also worked with
de Klerk and Kramer, while the Van Gendt brothers were the sons of A.
L. van Gendt, who worked with Cyupers himself on the Central Station:
John Godart van Gendt (1866-1925) and Adolf Daniël van Gendt
(1870-1932).

But the Shipping House also announces a new era of architectural
and artistic collaboration. Standing further along the line from Ruskin to Le Corbusier (as
suggested, for example, by Maristella Casciato, 7), it shows how
commitment to architectural integrity, and wholeness of approach,
could produce not only a functional building but a highly distinctive
monument to the contemporary ethos. It is considered the first work of
the Amsterdam School, the distinctive Dutch movement of this time that
(rather like the work of Charles Rennie
Mackintosh in Glasgow) incorporated elements of Arts and Crafts
and Art Nouveau
into a form of Expressionism.

Exterior

Left to right: (a) The corner, where the main entrance
is. (b) Ironwork on the façade. (c) Sculpture of Cornelis de
Houtman on the façade. (d) Representation of the Indian Ocean
on the right side of the entrance.

A corner plot like this could be turned to dramatic
advantage (see for example the Felix Pontin building
in Paris of 1904). There was once a plan to make the tower 60
metres tall (see "From Shipping House"), but an impression of height
was achieved even with a more modest tower: "The decoration at the
fantastically sculpted entrance gives the corner a strong vertical
thrust" (Groenendijk and Vollard 259). The sculptural work on the
building was by H. A. van den Eijinde (1869-1939), H. l. Krop
(1884-1970) and W. C. Brouwer (1879-1933). and the interior by T.
Nieuwenhuis (1886-1944) and C. A. Lion Cachet (1864-1945).

Compare the use of representational sculpture with text
at the Shipping House with this earlier sculptured panel on the
façade of the Central Station, which has "Electricity,
Industry, Steam" written on it in Dutch. The influence, and the change
in style of representation, are both obvious.

The Shipping House's façade is richly and curiously
embellished in various ways, both symbolic and literal, and in a
variety of materials. As one commentator says, Van der Mey has
"brought its mass to life with an explosion of detail in wood,
sculpture, brick, iron and glass" (Van Dijk 19). Everything is
meaningful. For example, the twenty-nine sculptured faces protruding
round the walls commemorate important figures in the history of Dutch
shipping: shown above is the explorer De Houtman, who pioneered the
spice trade in the sixteenth century. At the entrance, all four great
oceans are represented, rising as pillars to reinforce the verticality
here. Besides that, the oceans look meek and serene, and suggest the
openness of the world to Dutch shipping (see also Wintle 74).

Entrance

Left to right: (a) The main entrance, replete with
symbolism related to shipping. (b) The sculptured ceiling above the
entrance, with figures representing perhaps the four points of the
compass, and a light fitment based on an uncoiled ship's rope (c) The
lobby area.

The sculptural work on the building was by H. A. van
den Eijinde (1869-1939), H. l. Krop (1884-1970) and W. C. Brouwer
(1879-1933), and the interior by T. Nieuwenhuis (1886-1944) and C. A.
Lion Cachet (1864-1945). At the top of the steps, below its fantastic
ceiling, the lobby is entered through a revolving door decorated with
Neptune's forks, and revolving underfoot on a mosaic compass. Inside,
everything was to be "a practical, modern and functional ... and at
the same time point back to the prosperous shipping tradition of the
Netherlands" ("From Shipping House"). The lobby area, with its rich
carved marble, original ironwork and off-centre stairs beneath
diamond-patterned ceiling rises, balances functionality with a sense
of progress as well as tradition. Despite the different designers
involved at the Shipping House, and the variety of materials and
elements here, there is a great sense of harmony. It is not difficult
to see how the building can be associated with both the Arts and
Crafts movement and Expressionism.

Interior

Left to right: (a) A window in the lobby. (b) Ironwork
over a doorway or corridor, with the initials of one of the shipping
companies. (c) A typically spiky light fitment and sun-ray clock
above an elevator door.

The stained glass was by by Willem Bogtman (1882-1955),
who recieved the commission in 1915 (Casciato 229-30). Windows on each
side of the lobby show Poseidon and Hermes (as god of trade) presiding
over the globe. In the window shown above, trading ships ply between
merchants under layers of seahorses and waves. A campanile indicates
trade with Venice.

Left to right: (a) Another type of light fitment. (b)
View on the top landing of the stairwell. (c) A free-standing
sculpture on an upper floor.

In its planes, sheer expanse, and details, the design
of the stained glass at the top of stairwell is extraordinarily
effective: "The building's crowning achievement spatially is its
geometrically ornamented central well" (Groenendijk and Vollard 259).
It is 106 square meters in diameter: "The designer used the globes and
the symbols surrounding the globes as an indicator of the fact that
one could encounter a Dutch ship during all seasons and throughout the
entire world" ("From Shipping House"). The building became a national
monument in 1972. The latest stage in its history was its conversion
to the luxurious Grand Hotel Amrath in 2005-7.